the first week

So I am all set in my sweet digs here at the Tec de Monterrey. I am so happy to be here and I am not even sure why since what I'm doing isn't anything terribly fabulous or exciting. Below is a video to give you a tour of my room here in the dorms con los hombres (with the boys).

I thought I would try to give a brief idea of what I've done since I got here a week ago, though as I discovered as I was talking with my mom earlier this evening, I think I am getting my days a bit mixed up.

SATURDAY, JULY 29, 2007

My parents and I finally arrive in Queretaro after about 24 hours of travel. It was an arduous journey. We started in Sacramento and from there went to Los Angeles, Monterrey, México City, and finally Querétaro. Each flight was delayed between 20 minutes and 2 hours but with our long layovers that wasn't much of a problem. While the México City airport was probably the most confounding, the LAX international terminal was absolute insanity...even at midnight!

We were picked up at the airport and stopped at the Tec only long enough to drop off all my gear and pack up an overnight bag for me. Then we were taken to Casa Cayala where my parents were staying while here. For any future visitors, I highly recommend this hotel. It is very nice, costs about $100 US dollars per night, and is only a short walk from my campus. All other hotels are in el centro which is about a 10-15 minute cab ride from the Tec.

SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2007

On Sunday we focused on getting my dorm room all set up, which my parents did with great efficiency. Once we unpacked we headed off to Wal-Mart (for all my liberal friends, I'm sorry--it was the only place recommended by those we spoke to here and since we didn't know the town, we went with it) to get a few essentials. As you can tell by the video, that included a lot of water!

We then decided to take a stroll around the campus and explore. It is a beautiful campus and very high tech. Each table on campus has a portal to be able to plug your computer in and get online. Most of what I need to access is very centrally located as well, unlike Stan State where I have to schlep my books from one end of campus to the other.

MONDAY, JULY 31, 2007

Monday was the last day my parents were in town as their flight back home left Queretaro at a terrible hour (6:20am...sorry guys). Since I was all settled in my dorm at the Tec we decided to go to el centro and walk around and find some yummy food. Downtown Queretaro is quite stunning and has several amazing plazas. I didn't take any photos out this day, but here are some photos from when I visited in May with Hector and Larry.

Once done in el centro we headed back to Casa Cayala and had some dessert. Later that night they walked me back to my dorm for my first night there and to say a very sad goodbye.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2007
Tuesday was the first day of orientation for all of the international students in the Programas Internacionales (PI). We were introduced to the staff, some students, our lawyer in charge of our immigration paperwork, and the campus. I must say that after that first day of orientation (all done in Spanish) I felt extremely far behind and discouraged with my language skills, especially when most of the other students were having full conversations in Spanish and many of them already knowing 2 or 3 other languages!

The other international students have come from all over the world and from places I wasn't expecting. The countries I can recall off the top of my brain at the moment are: Japan, France, Germany, Austrailia, England, Ireland, Spain, Chile, Belgium, Canada, and Ecuador. I am having a fantasatic time getting to know them before we start classes next week!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007
On Wednesday morning the students that work with the PI program took us on a tour of the campus and played a few silly games with us. The one in the picture involved a large cucumber and dish soap.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2007
I didn't have any scheduled events on Thursday so I just hung out either on campus or in my room. I did, however, have two very minor successes that day. First success: I went to the bookstore and asked for help in finding the books for my classes. I successfully understood the woman when she told me that my professors would tell me on the first day of class which books I would need. This was apparently communicated during the orientation but I didn't pick up on it that day. Second success: I ventured off campus on my own to pick up the photos that we had taken the day before for our immigration papers. Yes, I know they aren't fabulous but I am trying to find value in the small things so I don't get too discouraged at my inability to communicate yet.

That night I went to a house party with many of the other international students at the home of Marcos, a local Tec student. It was a fairly fun night, but not really my type of scene. The music was too loud to talk very easily with anyone. At about midnight they ran out of drinks (I remained sober) and headed off to a club. I decided to head back to the residence hall and Charles, a very wonderful Austrailian, accompanied me back in the cab so I wasn't alone. I ended up being very happy he came since our driver got a little lost taking us back and Charles was able to direct him. His righteous indignation at the driver charging 15 pesos extra for the "service" of putting my wheelchair together was a little endearing too. But I figured that the driver probably needs that money more than I did, so I handed it over.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2007
Friday ended up being a tad confusing. We were told that there was to be a feria de servicios all day during which we could sign up for extra curricular activities and get our ID cards. They said to arrive early because things fill up quickly. Many arrived by 9am so we could be the first in line only to find out when we tried to enter that it didn't actually start until 1pm. For me this wasn't much of a tragedy since I live on campus and hadn't stayed out as late as the others, but some that lived farther away were trapped on campus with not much to do for about 4 hours.

Once la feria started, we headed over and were herded into the basement of the Salón de Congresos and tried to figure out the madness. I came out with only one class that worked with my schedule. It is called Batik, which I had never heard of, but apparently involves wax and dying material. We'll see how it goes. I was hoping to be able to do some sort of painting, but this should be fun.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2007
Today I was lazy and slept until after 11am and was shortly thereafter visited by a friend wanting to use my computer. Later in the afternoon, a few of us went out to lunch in el centro and I had a yummy something that I can't remember what it is called anymore! But if you come, we can go there and get it. In the photo from left to right are Susie from Canada by way of France, Rachel from Missouri, and Molly from California.

Well, that's about it! I just had my "bed check" for the evening so I can get in my jammies now. I think Pablo, my RA, was a little embarrassed to come in my room last night and find me in my PJs. Actually, I didn't realize he was knocking on my door so he came in. Perhaps that is why Fernando came tonight. :-) This curfew thing will be very interesting.

If you made it this far, congratulations! I'm sorry to have been so long-winded!